iOS 7 Feature Pulled Ahead of Release

iCloud Keychain, one of the iOS 7 features that was detailed at WWDC, has vanished from the iOS 7 GM, a sign that it may not be coming with iOS 7 public release when it arrives on September 18th.

For months, iOS 7 beta users have been using a feature called iCloud Keychain, a feature that allows iPhone users to use iCloud to remember account names, passwords and more.The service syncs with Safari and can be used to automatically input information when doing things like shopping online or logging into a site. The feature has been a staple in iOS 7 since its beta release but yesterday, the feature disappeared from the radar.

The iOS 7 GM rolled out last night, the final step towards a public release date but iCloud Keychain is no longer available within the software. We have confirmed this on a device running iOS 7 GM and other sites, includingMacRumors, are reporting the same thing.

It’s not clear why Apple pulled the feature from the iOS 7 GM but it could be that it’s waiting for the arrival of OS X Mavericks, its new OS X software, before issuing it to iOS 7 owners. OS X is expected to arrive in October so it could be that iOS 7 owners are without the feature for a month or so. It’s also possible that it needed more time to work on the feature though it was working in the betas prior to the GM.

For Apple’s part, the iOS 7 features page is now listing the iCloud Keychain feature as “Coming Soon” which again points to the feature possibly being stricken from the final version of iOS 7 that is released on September 18th.

iOS 7 will arrive on September 18th ahead of the iPhone 5S.

The rest of iOS 7 is expected to make its debut on September 18th ahead of the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C and it will be coming to a number of old devices including the iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, iPhone 4 and the iPad mini.

Apple will roll out the iOS 7 update to eligible versions of the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch on the same day and the roll out will likely take place sometime around 10AM PST.

iOS 7 will bring a host of new features to the table including AirDrop and iTunes Radio and it will also usher in a new look for Apple’s mobile operating system, one that is much flatter than the iOS of old.